The role of Lepas Sp. Crustacea Cirripedia Pedunculata in the evaluation of postmortem interval in Aquatic environments

After attending this presentation, attendees will understand what investigative role water fauna plays in the evaluation of PMI and PMSI in cases where the discovery of corpses is in aquatic environments. This presentation will impact the forensic science community by demonstrating how product and entomological surveys could give clues on the origin and permanence of an unidentified corpse. Introduction: The interval between death and the discovery of a body is known as postmortem interval. Backdating the time of death is useful for resolving legal issues when a corpse is recovered. It is particularly useful to: (1) know when the crime was committed; (2) identify the victim; (3) exclude some suspects in the murder case; (4) direct the investigations of law enforcement; and, (5) verify the statements of a suspect. Among the methods used to calculate the PMI include: analysis of consecutive abiotic phenomena (algor mortis, rigor mortis, livor mortis), analysis of ocular changes, analysis of cadaveric fauna (insect larvae, insects, fish, shellfish), and analysis degree of decomposition.1-4 In particular, the permanence of a water body causes alterations of both phenomena cadaveric (putrefaction) finds in the exterior and interior of the body. The permanence of the body in water can result in the appearance of cadaverous transformative special phenomena, such as the saponification, with consequent formation of adipocere, and maceration. Of particular interest is the relief of foreign materials and lesions produced in the aquatic environment. These lesions can be produced by the impact of body against rocks and cliffs or into water fauna (vertebrates and invertebrates) and it can cause different types of lesions or sometimes some problems in the distinction of antemortem and postmortem lesions. The wildlife that tends to colonize the corpse in the water allows the evaluation of Postmortem Submergence Interval (PMSI), due to the different timing of colonization of the bod